


For Eternity

by EmeraldWaves



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A little bit of angst, A little bit of fluff, Afterlife, M/M, Post Game, bittersweet angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-31
Updated: 2018-01-31
Packaged: 2019-03-11 19:58:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13531461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmeraldWaves/pseuds/EmeraldWaves
Summary: Prompto meets Noctis again, young and vibrant— just as he always should be.





	For Eternity

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is inspired by this [art](https://twitter.com/_tsuna2727/status/957089718994288640) and is dedicated to a special group of people who make me smile everyday <3

At first, the world grew blurry, his bright blue eyes glossing over with a fog. His chest constricted, his lungs desperate to pull air into them, clinging to any minuscule threads of life he had left in his body.

Numbness took over, his mind focusing on one thing and one thing only, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw him. He thought he saw the coy smile, curling up on the corner of his lip. His dark, long, wispy hair caressed the side of his cheeks, his messy beard he hadn't thought to trim sat proud upon his face, and his cobalt eyes shimmered with a sadness he had always wanted to wish away.

He knew he was crazy then, because that man, the one who had freed him from loneliness, the one he loved so much, and had been long gone. And really if he could've had one wish, it would've been to see him one more time, kiss him one more time, and tell him he'd done his best to walk tall without him, but it never was the same. Maybe he'd have been proud of his effort, of his attempts.

But he'd tried. He really had.

He'd kept his picture everywhere. Close to his heart, all around his apartment, as if he was filling some void. He'd made it his goal to try and keep his chin up, spread the light they worked so hard to return. And it worked, on the surface at least.

Noctis brought the light back, but he'd taken Prompto's heart.

And then, after all was said and done, there was only darkness. As the last breath struggled into his lungs, his world faded, leaving behind the purest curtain of black nothingness.

He wanted to scream, cry out, call for help, but deep down he knew no one would come. After everything Noctis had given up, in the end Prompto was somehow trapped in the very thing Noctis never wanted for him. Darkness.

_"Can't you stay?"_

It had been a selfish request. One Noctis hadn't even graced with an answer. His eyes held a sadness, and instead he kissed Prompto, laying with him for one more night.

_"I can't let you live in darkness."_

He couldn't have lived with himself, damning the world to eternal night. Not after so many had suffered for so long. And yet...

_"I can't let you go."_

That was what he had wanted to say. He'd held his tongue though, bit down hard until he drew a bit of blood. How could he be so heartless when the man he loved was sacrificing _everything_?

It wasn't fair; it had never been fair. Prompto spent so many nights repeating 'why,’ over and over in his head. He was lucky it hadn't drove him mad.

Now he was dead, probably. Stuck in a void of black, unable to move, unable to speak. Was this really all there was to the afterlife? Nothing? Was Noctis in the same place? Floating, immobile for all eternity. Maybe there was a separate place for kings to go. Prompto hoped that was the case.

And then there was a flash, a bright light which surrounded his body, filling him with a warmth he hadn't felt in decades— and it was like his eyes were opening for the first time, blinded by the morning sun. His gaze drifted up at the bright blue sky, filled with puffy clouds. A gentle breeze flowed over his body, and he pushed himself up.

Was he really dead? Had he simply dreamed everything? The world looked so... normal. All around him he could see the tan, dirt mountains, speckled with grass, kissing the blue sky. The scent of the dusty roads the four of them traveled so long ago wafted into his nose, and Prompto felt like he was home again, though his heart ached for the missing pieces.

He glanced down at his hands adorned with his old gloves, the ones he'd worn with his Crownsguard outfit. He hadn't worn them in years. His hands looked smoother too, less worn out with age. Immediately his eyes scanned over his body, black vest, fuzzy boots, white belt... definitely his Crownsguard clothes. His hands jumped to his face, realizing how smooth it felt, as if he'd never grown an inch of facial hair at all.

Jumping to his feet, Prompto glanced around once more. There was no one around for miles; the only semblance of humanity was the cobblestone path he stood upon, which was laid next to a small wooden fence. Prompto had no idea where this path led, but he didn't see any other options, so he began to follow it.

His body felt lighter, less achy, and he practically bounced when he walked— his steps felt so lively. He didn't like the idea of being alone in what was potentially the afterlife. But wherever this was sure beat the darkness he'd been trapped in before. He did, however, wish he had a damn mirror so he could confirm his suspicions about his current age. It really seemed as though he'd been reverted back to his twenties.

Following the path began to seem tedious. Nothing changed, the world slowly moving by him until he realized the ground was rising up next to him, forming a sort of ledge. As he rounded the corner, he froze at the scene before him.

Noctis. He sat on the edge of the ledge, hands curled around the corner. He was young again, the way Prompto remembered him best; how they were when they'd traveled Lucis together. The wind blew his tousled dark hair, and his gaze was turned up to the sky. The sun shone against his smooth skin, his dark blue eyes glistened with a happiness Prompto was so thankful to see. This was how it always should've been: Noctis, kissed by the light of the sun; beautiful, happy, and smiling.

Prompto was frozen. It felt like he had lived a million lonely lives without Noctis, and now here he was, sitting so peacefully. He wanted to scream his name, scream that he loved him, that he missed him— but instead, he simply stared at him, watching, terrified if he made a sound or moved, Noctis would disappear, an apparition of Prompto's past.

He bit on his lip, tears welling up in his eyes, and before he could stop himself, his legs began moving towards him. His body knew exactly where he wanted to be. "Noooooccctttt!" he cried out, waving wildly as his feet crunched against the dirt on the cobblestones.

Immediately, Noctis turned his gaze away from the sun, but he looked at Prompto with more happiness than Prompto could recall seeing on his face. His smile was small, but genuine. "Prompto!" he called back.

Leaping down from the ledge, he stood, tucking his hands into his pockets before Prompto tackle-hugged him. "You're here. You're actually here!" he said, the words breathless as tears flowed down his cheeks.

"I am. I've been waiting," he whispered, wrapping his arms around the other.

"Were you... waiting long?" Prompto asked, pulling away from the hug just so he could look at Noctis' face one more time. He was perfect, unsurprisingly; Noctis had always been beautiful, but in this light, his eyes shone even more.

"Eh, it was worth it," Noctis smirked.

"I missed you so much," he said softly. Once again, Noctis wrapped his arms around him, and the warmth Prompto felt before was tenfold. He closed his eyes, knowing he could've stayed in that hug forever, never moving away.

"Yeah, I know," Noctis muttered. "Sorry." It was an apology, but it wasn't something Prompto needed, nor did it matter. "I got... to watch you at least. You watch whoever you want here," he said. "Damn... that sounds creepy when you say out loud."

"A little bit," Prompto chuckled. "So... is this the afterlife?" he asked. He pulled away from Noctis reluctantly, keeping his hands wrapped around Noctis' as he glanced around.

"Guess so," Noctis shrugged. "Never really questioned it."

"And you look so... young!" Prompto exclaimed, his palms cupping at Noctis' cheeks, squishing his face playfully.

"So do you! You look better without that... thing on your face," he teased.

"Hey! It looked cool!" Prompto pouted.

"Suuuure..." Noctis hummed.

"Oh, like yours looked any better," Prompto scoffed, rolling his eyes. The two of them laughed, their voices resonating through the clear skies.

"Guess when you come here, you revert to the version of yourself from when you were the happiest," Noctis explained.

"Guess we chose the same time," Prompto said, glancing over Noctis' face once more. He bit his lip, tears threatening to pour out. "Please tell me this is real..." he whispered. "Please tell me I'm not going to wake up and be somewhere else, away from you..."

Cupping his cheeks, Noctis brushed his thumbs over Prompto's freckles, leaning in to brush their lips together in a soft kiss. Prompto sighed, pressing into it. Gods, he'd missed that feeling, Noctis always managed to make his stomach flip-flop.

"It's real," Noctis whispered, pressing his forehead to Prompto's.

"Thank the Gods..." he sighed. "I feel like... I'm finally home," he said softly, his heart fluttering with a coziness only Noctis could awaken.

"Me too. Welcome home, Prompto," he smiled, and Prompto grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

"You... gotta tell me all about this place," Prompto smiled.

"It's huge. There's so much to see, I'm... pretty sure it's endless," Noctis shrugged, looking out over towards the horizon. It was impossible to see any sort of end or even a landmark really, and it seemed like they could explore forever.

"Well," Prompto said, puffing out his chest as he sucked in a large breath of air. "Seems like we've got another adventure ahead of us!"

Noctis squeezed his hand, holding onto him tight. "Seems like it."

"What do you say? Should we explore this place?" Prompto asked gesturing to the landscape around him.

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Noctis smiled.

The two took their first steps forward, and Prompto squeezed Noctis' hand, ready for their new journey to begin. They'd be at each other's side, for eternity.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhhh This is so exciting! This is my 100th Fanfic I've posted on Ao3! I can't believe it, but I'm proud!! And I am so happy it's this one. I wrote this a few days ago, cause I was so so SO inspired by this art and I really felt passionate about writing this <3 I love Promptis so much ;---; Overlimits graciously beta-ed this for me!! THANK YOU!! <3 Thank you to everyone who reads and supports my fics! I am loving writing for this fandom <3
> 
> [emeraldwaves](http://emeraldwaves.tumblr.com/) is my tumblr  
> [musickazoo](https://twitter.com/musickazoo) is my twitter if you wanna yell about Promptis stuff with me!


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